Wedding notice period to nearly double in bid to crackdown on sham marriages

Crackdown: Rising the wedding notice period will give the Home Office more time to investigate (Image: PA)

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Nick Clegg will announce a crackdown on sham marriages this week in a “firm but fair” shake-up of immigration rules.

The Deputy PM will also unveil plans to send more inspectors into top hotels to hunt for bosses paying migrant workers under the minimum wage.

The clampdown marks a shift for the pro-European Lib Dems as they emulate the Tories and Labour with a tough message on immigration ahead of next year’s general election.

The new rules will mean the current notice period of a wedding ceremony will be almost doubled from 15 to 28 days.

Wedding registrars will be urged to tip off immigration officials if they suspect a wedding is a sham.

The move will give immigration officials more time to investigate whether a proposed marriage is genuine, or a sham union designed to help an illegal immigrant set up home in the UK.

Most sham marriages in Britain involve an EU national with the right to be in the country marrying someone from outside the EU.

But the new rules will apply to all couples - including two British people - and will effectively spell the end of “shotgun wedding” where couples try to marry speedily.

Under existing rules, peple who want to marriage must tell their church or local register office 15 days before the planned wedding date, with details posted on a notice board.

But under the new Immigration Act, the period will be extended to 28 days to clamp down on an estimated 2,000 sham marriages every year.

Mr Clegg will say this week: “We know that there are criminal gangs charging thousands of pounds for a fake wife.

“Vulnerable women from Eastern Europe – who are allowed to enter Britain as members of the EU – are being trafficked here purely to be offered up to illegal immigrants from outside Europe – to be used as anchor brides.”

Mr Clegg added: “We are enlisting Britain’s registrars to help. It is an insult to their profession and the institution of marriage when they have to conduct a ceremony and the groom doesn’t even know his future wife’s maiden name.”

If there is suspicion that a marriage is bogus, the Home Office will get 70 days to investigate.

Amid fears that rogue bosses are using cheap migrant labour to undercut British workers, Mr Clegg also vowed £1 million would be spent on more inspectors to deal with the problem.

He said: “Rather than just respond to tip-offs they will proactively go after the worst offending employers, including those who run care homes, recruitment agencies and top class hotels.”

The £6.31 hourly minimum wage is due to rise to £6.50 in October.

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